Five Little Blue Stones
by fromtheleft
Summary: Stella Villanueva can handle a lot of things. She's a pro at dealing with stress, fires, and obnoxious people. What she can't handle is a bus crash that leads her and her ex-boyfriend/current almost-best friend to a group of rambunctious Dwarrows. But she does her best.
1. Chapter 1

The sun was glaring off the gleaming gate that acted as a barrier in the middle of the busy street. There, waiting among the other travelers on the sidewalk, stood a young woman. She squinted against the brightness of the day as she gathered all of her hair to the top of her head so she could uselessly wave a hand to the back of her neck in a pathetic attempt to cool off. She lamented her decision to leave behind her sunglasses at home but she never did care for having things on her face. Her backpack felt as if it was getting heavier and heavier each moment longer she had to have it hanging from her shoulders. It was on such unbearably hot days that she despised being a full-time student with no car. She could have handled the weight of all her books if she didn't have to take the bus every single day. Or she wouldn't have minded taking the bus every day if she didn't have to haul around so many textbooks.

Stella Villanueva ignored the man who was attempting to speak to her, throwing him an uncomfortable smile that she was sure looked more like a grimace than anything else, as she adjusted the straps of her backpack. When the man was in the middle of a sentence, she turned about face and shuffled away to stand further down the sidewalk next to a man whom she saw on the bus every day but never actually spoke to. He offered her a comforting glance but did nothing to help her. Stella didn't actually expect him to help, for people rarely did, but being around a familiar presence was still nice.

She released a sigh of relief when the bus turned around the corner, as she was eager to get away from aggressive strangers and the even more aggressive heat. After stepping on the bus, she glanced around for an empty seat. Her gaze froze on one particular dark figure and her lips twitched up along the corners as she made her way towards him. Stella had no doubt who it was, considering she only knew one idiot who was dumb enough to wear a leather jacket on such a hot day.

She plopped herself down in the seat next to young man and yanked his headphones off. "Hello, worthless human."

He rolled his eyes before grudgingly putting his headphones away in his pocket. He greeted in return, "Hello, bride of Satan."

Stella's smirk melted into a wide smile as she wrapped an arm around his waist and leaned her head upon his shoulder. He reeked of cigarettes. The smell was disgusting but familiar. "It's good to see you again, Lorenzo."

He wrapped an arm around Stella's shoulders in return, making a point to send the man who had been pestering the woman at her stop and began to glare at Lorenzo an obscene single fingered gesture. "It's been a while since I've seen your perpetually startled face. You heading home?"

"Yeah. What about you?" Stella asked, flicking the cuff of his jacket before tugging his dark red scarf with a grimace. "Aren't you hot?"

"You're going home, I'm going to school. Just thought I'd take a different bus route today," he informed her as he slapped Stella's hands away. "And no, I'm not. It was cool this morning."

"That was this morning, idiot," she rolled her eyes as she straightened up.

"I'm suddenly remembering why I didn't miss you," he sighed as he pulled away from her.

"Shut up," Stella laughed. "I'm still the coolest ex-girlfriend you've ever had."

His face remained neutral as his eyes flickered to the side so he could peer over to Stella. A person who did not know Lorenzo well would have thought him irritated with the girl. But such a person would never have captured the faint curl of his lips that lingered for the briefest of moments before he turned away to tap the case of his violin that sat in his lap. It used to irritate Stella that she had to hunt down the smallest hints of emotions on his usually expressionless face but since their break-up, she had managed to make a game out of it.

"You have a point there," he conceded, making Stella beam. "I mean, what other guy can say he has a girl who does a weird dance gig with fire for an ex?"

"It's not weird," her eyes hooded over in exasperation.

"The shortest, sweetest girl I know gets paid to swing around things lit on fire for the entertainment of anybody willing to pay. It's pretty weird."

"What does short and sweet have anything to do with fire dancing?" Stella let out a small laugh as she stared past his shoulder to look out the window.

As tiresome as taking the bus everyday could be, Stella could not ignore the sense of tranquility that overcame her when she took the bus home. There was a long stretch of road in the middle of the city that was absent of crowds of people and buildings. Dry bushes, dying trees, and the smallest trickle of a stream was all that existed by that road. It was unbearable to walk through but was quite beautiful to look at when driving by. Stella's favorite part was the small bridge that went over the deepest part of the stream. When the bus went over that bridge, it always felt like the bus was floating and she could pretend that she was being sent somewhere else. Stella smiled to herself at the thought of the approaching bridge before focusing back on Lorenzo.

"I just think of you as this girl who is short and sweet with a face that always looks surprised and your twig arms - "

"Oh, thank you," she interrupted with an eye roll.

He continued on as if she hadn't spoken, "And I don't think, 'Oh, she's a fire dancer.' You look more like a ballerina, if anything."

Stella bit the inside of her cheek "Well…I guess. But I never thought –"

But Stella never did get the chance to tell Lorenzo what she thought. Just as they were less than halfway across her favorite bridge, a horrendously loud noise echoed from the back of the bus before the vehicle lurched violently to the side. She was thrown out of her seat and into the center aisle with Lorenzo landing painfully on top of her. She flailed for a moment to grab the seat above her and watched in horror was the driver struggled to gain control of the wheel. But before he could, the bus broke across the flimsy barrier of the bridge. And then they were flying in the air.

Her stomach dropped and it felt like her heart was pounding in her throat. Out the windows on one side of the bus, all she saw was blue sky. But on the other, she saw the sandy ground drawing closer and she instinctively clenched her eyes shut. Lorenzo's arms were painfully tight around Stella's waist. He curled his form over hers, making the both of them fold into a small ball. Under the sound of the screaming from the other passengers, she could barely hear his voice in her ear.

"Stay with me, Stella."

Before they hit the ground, all she could do was grip his hand tightly in hers.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Yes, it's one of _those_ in which a modern human falls dramatically to Middle Earth. Oh, dear, I hope that doesn't put you off my story... This chapter is remarkably short but I assure you, succeeding chapters will be longer.

I am a bit nervous considering I've never actually had the guts to put one of my fan fiction stories online before so we'll just see how this goes. This story doesn't have a beta so I am checking my own writing. This was originally written in first person POV so if you find something I didn't catch in first person, please let me know!

I suppose this is the part where I add the disclaimer that I do not own The Hobbit or anything you may recognize as Tolkien's work.


	2. Chapter 2

The first thing that immediately came to her mind when Stella woke up was that her back was killing her. She groaned out load as she turned on her side to remove the pain. Landing and laying on top of a full backpack was never meant to be comfortable. The second thing that came to her mind was the uncomfortable presence of dirt. When she turned on her side and took a deep breath, she immediately began to choke on all the dirt that went down her airway. After she caught her breath, she lifted her head up to get an idea of where she was.

Her brow furrowed at the lush trees that towered over her. The gorge the bus crashed in was gray and brown and filled with dry bushes. The clearing she was in depicted the exact opposite of that with its thriving greenery. Maybe the stream under the bridge had a stronger current than Stella thought and carried her away after the crash. That would explain the lack of a crash site. But there was nothing to explain, that if that were the case, why her clothes were dry and why there was no river, stream, or any presence of water at all around her. Stella squinted in the sunlight as she weakly pushed herself up. In the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a curled up ball of dark clothing.

"Lorenzo!" she called out, scrambling up to her knees so she could crawl over to him.

When she reached him, Stella pushed him onto his back so she could see if there were any injuries. After carefully peeling back his jacket and scarf, she was relieved to note that despite a vague grimace on his face, he was curiously absent of any injuries. Like Stella, he didn't even have a scratch or a bruise on him. His head tilted towards her hand as she smoothed his hair back in an attempt to coax him awake.

"Lorenzo," she shook his shoulder. When his eyes fluttered opened, she snapped her fingers in his face to wake him up faster and to gain his attention. "Come on, Zo."

"Stell?" his voice croaked. "We're alive?"

"Alive and lost," she said grimly.

"Lost?" he repeated as he sat up, rubbing his middle fingers at his temples.

"I don't know where we are or how we got here," she told him. "There isn't a bus crash, we aren't in the gorge, and there's nothing that could have brought us here."

"Try your cell?" he asked, already pulling his phone out of his pocket.

She pulled her backpack off her shoulders to dig in for her phone. She was glad to see that she had a decent amount of battery left but was dismayed to see that there was absolutely no signal in the area. She put her phone away and heavily sighed, "Nothing."

"Same," Zo said softly as he tapped the edge of his phone to his lips. "What are we going to do?"

"I guess we walk and look for others."

He nodded with another sigh and helped Stella up from the ground. After shrugging her backpack back on, they briefly took a moment to search for Zo's violin before finding it in a nearby bush. Immediately, the tick in his jaw relaxed and he stroked the black case with a ring-covered hand. He wouldn't want her to ask so she didn't. Stella knew that his violin was important to him but she never knew why. All she needed to know was that it was precious to him so she always left it at that.

And then they walked. They walked for hours through the trees but they never saw anything or anyone that may have been on the bus with them. The sun was slowly moving across the sky but thankfully, wherever they were, it was not as hot as it was downtown.

"Stella, what if we're here for a while?" Zo asked a few hours after they woke up, checking his phone again for the tenth time and being disappointed that there was still no signal.

"I don't know, honey," she cleared her throat so she could ignore the dryness.

They quickly made it clear that Stella was the only one who had food and water. But the little food she had was only a couple bags of chips and half a sandwich, which was only meant to get through the small twinges of hunger that she felt in-between her classes. She only had half a bottle of water and they had yet to come across any water. They agreed to save the water for when they would really need it.

Stella and Zo only ever saw each other once in a blue moon. They used to be close during high school and dated very briefly after but they were always extremely affectionate with each other, despite how long they could go without seeing each other. After waking up, Zo never did let go of her hand and she quickly reverted back to their usual pet names. Maybe their closeness was the reason why they could never introduce the partners they had after they dated to each other. Stella had a tendency to date jealous guys and Zo had a tendency to be a bit distant from whatever partner he had so whenever they all met together, their partners immediately disliked how well the two got along. As unfortunate as it might have been, Stella never regretted or questioned how weird it was that they still were close after they broke up. She always thought it was just a sign that they were meant to be great lovers but even greater friends. So that was how they kept it.

"Okay, now it's hot as hell," Zo finally admitted as he adjusted the case on his back.

They had only been walking for an hour when the heat finally got to him, though he refused to say so. Stella's only indication that he thought so was when he abruptly let go of her hand to peel off his jacket and scarf. After carrying both in one hand and his violin in the other, he eventually got tired and cleverly used his scarf to tie his folded jacket and violin to his back. Stella jealously glared at his seemingly light load and briefly debated if she should dump her textbooks or not. They cost a lot of money but were unbearably heavy. She already left her sandals behind long ago. She was far more comfortable walking through the grass barefoot anyway.

Before she could ask him to stop so she could pull out her books, the sound of a howl filled the air. "What the fuck?" Zo spoke out her thoughts. "Is that a coyote or something?"

"I don't know. It might be."

"This is getting too fucking weird and it's pissing me off," Zo kicked at a tree.

"You're telling me. If only we could -"

Stella was cut off by loud growling. The both of them immediately froze before slowly turning around. There in front of them was the ugliest animal Stella ever saw. Its huge muscles ripped underneath its matted fur as it stalked towards the two of them. Its teeth were black and dripping with saliva as it snarled at them. Its dark eyes glittered maliciously, keeping Zo in its sight, clearly marking him as the bigger threat or the most entertaining.

"Stella," Zo spoke lowly. "Please tell me you're still as fast as you were in track."

The sound of another, dreadful howl in the distance made Stella flinch, causing the animal to look towards her.

"God, I hope so."

"On three, about face?" he asked.

"Got it."

The sound of the animal's growling increased as it stalked closer. It kept switching its gaze between the both of them. And then, all at once, all the sounds stopped. Beyond the cease of growling, the birds that they had been hearing earlier stopped singing.

"Three!"

At Lorenzo's voice, Stella immediately whirled around and tore after him through the trees. The vicious snarl of the beast roared in her ears before its trampling form followed behind them. Before that moment, Stella always resented having to join the track team in high school. Her legs were too short for her to be considered too fast so she was useless in the shorter runs but Stella was lucky enough to have high endurance. Her parents only made her try out because they thought she needed something to do after school and it would look good on college applications. She never thought she would actually be in a situation where she had to use her training to actually save her life.

Thank God for persistent and annoying coaches.

Her heart almost burst out of her chest when Stella felt sharp teeth grasp her long skirt. Thankfully, her skirt was made out of thin, sheer material so it easily ripped out of the beast's mouth as she jumped over bush to get away. But her brief relief did not last long when Stella and Zo were forced to split up by a large tree that they hadn't the time to move around together. She could feel her gut sink when the beast made the quick decision to chase after her friend instead of her.

Stella could barely hear Zo tearing through the forest and the animal running after him over the sound of her own heavy breathing. She stumbled and almost fell onto her hands and knees when a searing pain shot up from her foot but she pushed herself to keep going. Preparing herself for anything that could happen next, she shifted course so she would run into the pair. It was difficult to estimate where she could run through the trees so she would be at Zo's side instead of the beast's.

She was lucky enough to run into Zo but unfortunately, she literally ran into him, causing them to move off course. They both stumbled for a moment before continuing to run. The other beast that they heard earlier howled again. Stella could only hope that there were only two and not a pack. Just when she was beginning to think that we would never be able to get away, Stella and Zo ran into them.

"Shit, fuck, short dudes with sharp things!" Zo cursed as they skidded to a stop.

There before them was the most bizarre group of men Stella had ever seen. She had neither the patience nor the time to count them but, curiously, the some of them were her height. More than a few were even a few inches shorter, which she found interesting, considering Stella barely brushed the five feet tall mark. Even more interesting, besides their strange clothes, was the fact that they all carried large amount of weapons ranging from swords to axes to bows and arrows.

They were joined by a man who had to be more than a head shorter and two tall men in robes. At first glance, the taller of the two appeared more peculiar with his long gray robes, which could not have been comfortable in the slightly warm weather, and his long staff and pointed hat. Stella had to double glance at the other. He could have blended in with the tress. If she wasn't trying to catch her breath, Stella would have gagged when she noticed the bird droppings on his hat. And, oh, God, really? It was dripping into his hair and it was caked to his face.

They all appeared to be in the middle of a serious discussion when Stella and Zo fell into their group. The tall man in gray was about to speak when the familiar sound of growling was hear above them.

Stella could feel the beast's presence before she saw it. Its malicious gaze sent an ominous chill down her spine. In her mind, she could see it crouching down, ready to pounce. There was no getting away from it this time. Her legs were frozen and her lungs were burning. What would her dad think when they told him that she was never coming home?

And in a moment that went by too quickly for Stella to entirely comprehend, her arm was grabbed by one of the shorter men and she was roughly yanked into him. He slightly pushed Stella behind him but did not let go as he kept a large arm around her waist as she clung to his shoulders. He took a quick step back and the beast pounced. One of them lifted a long sword and brought it down upon the beast and it did not come back up. She could hear Zo cursing as another one of the beasts came from another direction. Stella clenched her eyes shut and hid behind both the man's and her hair. An arrow flew past them and the beast fell but shifted to make its way back up. With one arm, the man holding her lifted his sword and cut the animal down. The beast snarled once before it abruptly fell silent. She slowly lifted her head up, eyes and mouth wide in shock, but she did not let go of the man. Her hair fell from where it had flipped over his head.

"Well, fuck, double tap for safety," Zo called from the back.

"Excuse me?" one of them asked not unkindly.

"It might just be down from pain. It could still be alive and eat us."

"Trust me, lad, if we say they're dead, they're dead," he answered with a smile that did not seem appropriate.

"What the hell are those things?" Stella asked, making all of them look at her. The one that held her quickly let go and stepped aside with a glare. "Is it a wolf-bear hybrid? Oh, God, is the Army doing experiments?"

"Stell, you watch too many movies," Zo shook his head, making her glare at him.

Before she could retort, one of the older men, or so he seemed with his long white beard, cast her a curious expression and asked, "You've never heard of a warg, lass?"

"Warg?" she scoffed. "Yeah, sure, Tolkien."

"Who?"

"Wargs don't exist. If they do, then I am Thorin Oakenshield."

"No, I believe I am him," the dark one with a glare that only her mother – and by extension, Stella – would be able to resist stepped forward.

She stared at him unimpressed before rolling her eyes. "Fine, be Thorin. Nobody likes Thorin anyway. Too arrogant and moody. I'll be Bilbo! Everyone loves a nice hobbit."

At her statement, the entire group looked startled before whirling around to look at the smallest man, the dark one, or the tallest one. The tallest one rested both hands on his staff but said nothing as his eyes flickered between Stella and Zo.

"You're such a fucking nerd," Zo sighed as he rested his hands on his knees to catch his breath.

"Shut up," Stella snapped before whirling back around to face the older man, who appeared to be the nicest so far. "Can those things climb trees?"

"No, but they can wait and can be quite clever when they wish to be," he answered after casting a hesitant look to the dark one.

"Well, fuck," the girl chirped with a wide, forced smile. "I hope you can do the stabby thing again because there are more of those coming. Let's go, Zo."

Before Stella could push Zo in another direction, they were stopped by the blade of the drawn out sword from the dark one. His glare never faltered, "Who are you and why did you bring those things with you?"

With another roll of her eyes, she pushed the sword away from her. "Look, pal, I've had a long day and I don't have the desire to be killed by freaky animals because a cosplayer with a superiority complex wanted to play games. We're leaving."

"Who are you and why did you bring wargs with you?" he repeated, bringing up his sword again.

"Who we are is none of your business and those things have been following us for almost half an hour. We're lost, idiot," she snapped before pushing forward.

"Young lady, it would benefit the both of you to come along with us. You have no weapons. We will keep you both alive if you agree to some questions that I would like to hear answered," the tallest one spoke, causing the dark one to glare at him. Like her mother would have been, the tall one was unperturbed by the fiery stare.

"Protection for interrogation," she muttered before casting a silent stare to Lorenzo, who gave an indiscernible nod of his head. "Fine."

"I doubt two people dressed in such a manner would bring wargs with them," the man said before he turned to the dark one. Stella furrowed her brows in confusion at his statement and Zo simply shrugged. "Who did you tell about your quest, beyond your kin?"

"No one," replied the dark one.

"Who did you tell?" the tall one repeated furiously.

The dark one's eyes flickered towards Lorenzo and Stella before quickly confirmed, "No one, I swear. What in Durin's name is going on?"

The tall one went grim before answering seriously, "You are being hunted."

"We have to get out of here," the one who held Stella spoke up.

Two of the shorter ones ran down a small hill and landed up on a boulder, calling out, "We can't! We have no ponies; they bolted."

The man in the long brown robes stepped forward and said, "I'll draw them off."

The tall one whirled around in exasperation. "These are Gundabad wargs. They will outrun you."

"These are Rhosgobel rabbits," he answered as he shot a thumb over his shoulder and smirked defiantly. "I'd like to see them try."

Apparently, that meant something substantial, considering the mildly impressed look the tall one cast him before nodding his head. He shuffled all of the shorter ones together before shoving us through the trees. The one in brown hopped on a sled that was being pulled by the strangest looking rabbits Stella had ever seen. She shared a begrudged stare with Lorenzo before they adjusted our load on their shoulders in unison and followed behind.

The tall one, who Stella assumed to be a Gandalf cosplayer, led them to a huge rock that was just outside the edge of the forest. An entire pack of grotesque looking men on more beasts lingered at the edge. She could see the leaves on the trees and bushes moving before the brown one – a Radagast, maybe – flew through the trees on his rabbit-driven sled, laughing wildly. He goaded the disgusting men, who followed after him without a second thought.

The Gandalf beckoned everyone in the opposite direction and they continued running. As they ran, they would often stop to hide behind the huge boulders whenever they noticed the warg riders in the distance on the plains. A few times, one of the men would accidentally run ahead and had to be pulled back to avoid being seen. Lorenzo and Stella stayed in the middle of the group, mostly of their own free will because they had no idea where the men were heading (to be honest, Stella didn't think even they knew) and they had no desire to be left behind.

Her endurance had fallen to shit and she was cringing at the searing pain in her side as Zo dragged her along. She was glad when they had fallen against another boulder. She automatically slapped a hand over her mouth to smother her heavy pants when the men fell silent and growling was heard above them. Zo's hand found hers and Stella's eyes clenched shut when the one with the arrows shot down another beast. The others descended upon the animal to finish it off after it fell. Stella lamented over the fact that she did not have more hands so she could cover her ears to block out the sound of weapons entering flesh and bones crunching. With a groan, she pushed off the boulder and they continued running faster than they were before. But before they knew it, they were surrounded by the ones who chased them.

Trying not to give them too much attention, Stella nudged Zo and beckoned him to follow her after she noticed the Gandalf had seemingly disappeared between gaps in the rocks. They followed behind, leaving the men wondering where they went, to find the Gandalf crouching over a deep hole.

"Think it's a decent escape?" she asked.

He peered at her from over his shoulder before replying, "I believe it is worth a try."

"Okay, so let's get out of here," Zo said before he jumped down the hole.

"Young man-" the Gandalf started to speak but Zo had already walked out of visual.

"Zo can take care of himself," she assured him. "He's managed so far and he's still got a long way to go."

The Gandalf assessed her from under heavy gray eyebrows before nodding. She nodded back before drawing her attention back to the hole, where Zo had reappeared.

"It's safe," he called up. "Come on, Stell."

Without hesitation, Stella jumped down, wincing as she felt sharp rocks embed themselves into her leg. Zo helped her up and led her over to a wall to lean against before he knelt down to lift her skirt up to her knees so he could brush away the debris. He froze when he noticed the trail of blood she was leaving behind. He coaxed her into lifting her leg to reveal her torn foot. He hissed in sympathy but she waved him away and waited as he reluctantly wandered down the path. With raised eyebrows, Stella watched the men fall down the hole. There was a brief lull and then the last two fell down with a hideous man with an arrow in his back following behind. Just then, a peculiar sounding horn was heard, causing all the men to glance around before the dark one approached the body on the ground. Stella grimaced as the dark man yanked out the arrow and carefully assessed it.

"Elves," he spat out before tossing aside the arrow.

"Boy!" one called out, causing everyone to whirl around to stare over at Zo, who only calmly turned around with a bored look. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Do you want to stay in this hole?" he replied tonelessly. "There's a path here."

The man with the most tattoos stepped forward. After throwing Zo a suspicious glare, he studied the path before calling back, "I cannot see where the pathway leads. Do we follow it or no?"

"Follow it, of course!" another man replied.

All of them shuffled out of the cavern to follow the path in single file. Zo leaned back to allow them to pass as he waited for Stella to approach him. By the time she limped over, his brows were furrowed together. He gently held her forearm between his thumb and index finger to hold her back before she could follow the others.

"I'm fine," she answered his unasked question softly so the others wouldn't hear. "Just a few scratches. I hope I never have to run again anytime soon."

"I feel that," he agreed with a sigh as he supported her with an arm around her waist.

They followed behind the men in silence, allowing their murmuring to wash over them. The path twisted and curled around, and at times, it felt too tight to squeeze through it if weren't for the push of the people behind them. No noise penetrated the tall stone towering above them. It was only when the sound of trickling water was heard that everyone hurried their pace. When they reached a break in the stone and stood in front of a sliver of a waterfall, they immediately fell quiet at the sight of the glowing city at the center of the valley. The men had growled under their breath at the sight but when the smallest man murmured the name of the city in awe, Stella shared a glance with Zo.

Cosplayers were one thing. An entire replica of Rivendell was just pushing it.


	3. Chapter 3

Whoever was in charge of the architecture of the pseudo-Rivendell had to be given an award or something because it looked fantastic. Peter Jackson, eat your heart out. You should have hired this guy as set designer instead. The weird glow the Rivendell the movies showed was nothing on the weird glow of the city that was in front of the group. There had to be something in the stone or paint that reflected the sun because it was not natural. It couldn't be.

As they approached, Stella could hear singing and laughing from the trees. Zo's eyes slide over to meet hers before they quickly averted their stares to avoid laughing out loud. The men continued grumbling to each other as they crossed another narrow bridge. They regarded the singing, the architecture, even the trees with suspicion. Only the smallest man continued to stare at everything with blatant awe. After crossing the bridge, a voice called out to the Gandalf.

The long, dark-haired man was not unnaturally tall but his appearance was nonetheless startling. He looked as if he was stretched too far, like pulled taffy, before he settled into his new height. He held himself up well and barely regarded the group, his pale eyes briefly lingering on Stella and Zo, as the Gandalf greeted him in return. They exchanged a few words before the horn they heard earlier echoed behind them along with the sound of rushing hooves.

The men grouped tightly together, all unsheathing their weapons, as Stella and Zo quickly pulled away to join the Gandalf. He seemed to be greatly amused as the tall men on horses surrounded the group. The horses circled around before a long-haired man with a silver circlet dismounted and cheerfully greeted the Gandalf.

As they spoke, the men in the group muttered to themselves with disdainful expressions on their faces. After the man who claimed to be a Thorin stepped forward, the tall man welcomed everyone inside for a meal. They were all about to shuffle behind him when Zo stepped forward.

"Excuse me, sir," he caught the attention of the man with the circlet, who blinked in surprise at the sight of us. "Is there a place we can clean up? She's kind of bleeding."

The tall man's pale eyes slid from Zo's hand, after he gestured with a thumb out, towards Stella's direction. The man slowly assessed her disheveled appearance but she was not too uncomfortable with his gaze. She was far more focused on the stinging sensation on her leg and foot, and the sweat caked on her face. She leaned heavily on her uninjured leg to draw up her skirt in hopes that the cool air would ease the pain. His eyes immediately focused on her scratches before he nodded.

"I will heal your wounds," he smiled in reassurance. "Lindir will lead you to the healing room."

With a beckoning hand, the group followed behind the first tall man. Stella sighed at the sight of a flight of stairs. Without a word, Lorenzo peeled the backpack off her shoulders and hooked it over his violin case before he lifted the smaller girl into his arms.

"My hero," she snorted.

"Better believe it, Your Highness," he smirked as she shook her head. "I'm just your regular fucking knight in shining armor. Where the fuck is my white horse?"

"I think I'd rather see you on a black motorcycle," Stella smiled as she ran her fingers through his curls.

"It would complete the look," he conceded as he set her back on the ground after the climb of stairs was over.

"You'd be your standard tall, dark, and handsome asshole," she said as she accepted her backpack back.

"Handsome is all that I need," he grinned roguishly. "Did I tell you some dude tried to set me up with a modeling thing? Can you believe that?"

Stella leaned back to look up at him suspiciously. Lorenzo's attractiveness was always glaringly obvious. But after knowing him for almost six years, his handsomeness practically melted away. She knew him as a careless, annoying, respectful, wonderful jerk. Over time, his face simply became that. He became so much more than a pretty face. It was hard to believe that a loser like him would be offered a modeling contract but it was also not surprising at all.

"I can see that," she nodded. "You have a vaguely young Johnny Depp thing going on."

"Shut up," he said simply, making her smile.

After stopping in front of an open doorway, the Lindir turned towards Stella and said, "You may wait here for Lord Elrond. You will be healed and have a chance to wash before another will come to guide you to dinner."

"Thank you so much!" she smiled widely up at him before she limped inside the room.

Stella threw her backpack to the floor before she hopped on top of a table that seemed to be ready for her. Lorenzo followed behind and took off his own things before he sat down in a chair across the room. The Lindir cast him an uncertain look, as if he was fully expecting that Zo should remain with the rest of the group, but he cast Stella a small glance and then continued to lead the group away. The Thorin offered the both of them a dark glare that they couldn't be bothered to worry about before following, making the rest eager to continue on, despite the curious looks they cast Stella and Zo.

After they left, Stella leaned back to make sure they were entirely gone before she whipped around. "So what do you think, Zo? Is this Lord of the Rings LARPing thing weird or what?"

"You have no idea how mortified I am on your behalf that you even know about Lord of the Rings LARPing," he said before he closed his eyes as if he was in pain. "Fuck, I'm embarrassed that I even know what LARPing is."

"Fuck off," Stella said without malice. "But isn't this weird? Like, that dude seriously thinks he's Thorin Oakenshield."

"I think it's safe to say that everyone here is crazy," he shrugged, "but then again, it's not like people can get animals like that anywhere. And did you see those guys riding them? I mean, holy shit."

"This is all crazy," she shook her head. "I mean, a full out LARPing expedition for Erebor. You haven't seen the rest and even you know how badly that ends. Who the hell would want to roleplay that?"

"You know of their quest?" a voice asked from the doorway.

Lorenzo and Stella turned to see the Elrond, freshly changed into dark and beautiful robes, watching them curiously. His brows were furrowed together as he approached them. As he sat down, his gaze became far sterner, making Stella feel like a child that was about to reprimanded. A glare like Thorin's made her feel defiant. A glare from the man in front of her made Stella want to confess all her secrets. She bet his kids had a hell of a time with him. They probably couldn't get away with anything.

"Doesn't everybody?" she asked in return.

"Not at all, actually," he replied simply before he leaned forward to review the damage done to Stella's leg and foot. "Do you both know how their quest will end?"

"Her more than me," Zo answered. "She's only read the book a million times, probably."

"It is written in a book," he stated more than asked as he began to clean Stella's wounds.

"You should know." She winced as a sharp tingle came from her foot. She tried to convince herself that if it tingled painfully and itched, whatever he was doing was working. "The Elrond cosplay is awesome, by the way."

"I am not familiar with the term but if you believe my attire to be a disguise, I assure that it is not."

"So you want us to believe you're really Elrond and this is really Rivendell in Middle Earth?" She raised a brow.

"I ask that you do because that is who I am and that is where you are."

"Prove it," Zo narrowed his eyes at him.

"I have no way to change what you believe," the Elrond pulled away from her leg and pat it down with a soft cloth. "All I can do is tell you the truth."

Stella's eyes flickered down to her leg and she immediately froze at the sight that greeted her. She couldn't see the sole of her foot but she could see the side of her leg. The scratches had not completely disappeared but they were healed at a rate that simple was not possible. She doubted that she would even have pink lines by tomorrow and there was no way that it would even scar. Her arms trembled as they held her up after she fell back on her elbows. Lorenzo had stood up to see what startled Stella and stood behind Elrond in shock.

"Okay." She licked her lips after she swallowed down the thick lump in her throat. "So…you're not an Elrond. You're _the_ Elrond. Like, the real dude."

"I am," he nodded, although he still seemed a bit confused at Stella's wording. "I apologize if this is a shock to you."

"A shock?" Lorenzo scoffed. "I'm more convinced that instead of dying in a bus crash, we just inhaled some crazy fucking fumes and are hallucinating some intense shit."

"Why would you believe you are dead?" Elrond questioned.

"We fell off a bridge, landed in water, and woke up in a forest," Zo said frankly. "Seems like we're dead to me."

"Zo," Stella whimpered as she laid back and threw an arm over her eyes.

He hesitated for a moment before quietly saying, "It's more than likely. We're dead, Stella."

"Shut up. Just shut up," she whispered before releasing a shaky sigh. "I want my tatay."

It seemed a bit childish to call out for her father in the way Stella did when she was very young but in that moment, she never felt smaller. She wasn't dead. She couldn't be dead. She was only twenty years old and she refused to die knowing that the majority of her time was in school. How depressing. There was still so much she had wanted to do. So many places to go, things to do, people to meet. She wanted to graduate, she wanted to dance, she wanted to fall in love, she wanted to do horrendously sappy and cliché things. Stella couldn't be dead. She wasn't dead.

Stella needed her nanay and tatay. She needed Ruth and Telma and Uri. Her parents, sisters, and brother would show Lorenzo. They'd tell him that she wasn't dead. She wanted his mom and brothers there, too. They would show him that he wasn't dead either.

When neither of them said anything more, Elrond asked, "Where is it that you originally hail from?"

"California. America. Earth," Zo answered simply.

Elrond considered this momentarily before nodding. "With your permission, I would like to inform Mithrandir and the Lady Galadriel of your plight. Perhaps with the three of us thinking it over together, we may find some explanation as to why you are here and find a solution."

After giving said permission, Elrond directed the both of them to wash rooms so that they could freshen up. Stella was assisted by a polite but quiet elleth, whose name she never was able to catch, and she helped her draw water into a tub so she could bathe before dinner. Her bath was relatively quick, as she wanted to avoid having time to herself to think about what exactly Lorenzo and Stella were doing in Middle Earth, of all places. By the time she washed, dried off, dressed into a borrowed dress, and was escorted to dinner, Lorenzo had already made himself comfortable at the table with a dinner plate filled with vegetables that he ate steadily as he ignored the suspicious glances of the Dwarves. When Stella walked in, the conversation halted and all suspicious glares turned towards her. She offered Elrond and Bilbo – the _real_ Bilbo! – a smile as she walked past. She stole a piece of lettuce from Lorenzo's plate as she plopped down into her seat.

"Hands off the food, succubus," he lazily waved a hand when she reached for another piece.

"Succubus," Stella considered the word as she nibbled on the green leaf. "That one's new."

"I thought it fit you."

"Hmm, I prefer my official title," she said after thanking the elf that brought Stella her own plate of food.

"Oh, excuse me," he began sarcastically. "Please keep your filthy hands off my food, Your Royal Highness, Stella Ann Villanueva, Empress of the great land of San Diego."

"Well, since you said please," she said as she flipped her damp hair over her shoulder.

Zo let out a short, disbelieving laugh as he shook his head but said nothing more. After that, they fell quiet as they ate, with only the sound of Elves playing music behind them to wash over the group. At the end of the table, a familiar conversation regarding swords reached Stella's ears. She smiled to herself when she noticed Bilbo glance at something under the table. After giving the dwarf next to him a mildly offended look when he proclaimed he held a letter opener instead of a sword, she spoke up.

"May I see your blade, Mr. Baggins?" Stella asked politely, making the murmured conversation around her quiet down.

"Oh," he floundered for a moment, his eyes flickering down the table, before settling back on the girl across from him. "Yes, you may."

He lifted the blade over the table to hand it over to Stella. She held the small blade delicately as she soaked in its appearance. In her hands, she held Sting. The real Sting! Not some replica that could be found online for less than $50. It was more beautiful than she could imagine. She had not yet seen Orcrist or Glamdring but in that moment, she had yet to care about them. That Sting, the real Sting, in her hands, would be held by and defend the Frodo Baggins. The real Frodo Baggins!

"If you smile any wider, I might call you Cheshire," Zo rolled his eyes as he raised a glass of wine to his lips.

"Shut up, Zo," Stella said absently without taking her eyes off the sword. "Have you named it yet, Mr. Baggins?"

"I have not yet found a name proper for it," he stammered out.

"Oh, well," she eyes flickered knowingly towards Elrond and Gandalf before she looked Bilbo right in the eye, "I'm sure it shall prove its worth and earn its name in time."

After thanking him, Stella relinquished Sting back to its rightful owner. Bilbo had yet to relax from his flustered state, even after he had Sting back into his hands and she had continued to eat her dinner quietly. She watched from the corner of her eye as the one who had to be Kili threw flirtatious glances at the female elf playing the harp. A small smile curled at Stella's lips when he appeared to be properly ruffled at the accusing glare from the dwarf sitting across from him.

Stella noted that the glaring dwarf – well, the one she was currently giving her attention to – was also the one who had caught her earlier before killing the warg. There was only one dwarf he had to be and that was Dwalin. He certainly didn't look like the actor from the movies (none of them did) but he was still interesting to look at. His dark hair lied across his shoulders and blended in with his full beard. Thick braids rested on either side of his mouth and were clasped shut with silver beads. He was dressed rather casually in a green shirt. Stella could only assume that he stripped off the fur lined armor he was wearing earlier for dinner but he had left the most fascinating pair of brass knuckles she had ever seen on his hands. From his hands, her eyes traveled up to see the numerous scars decorating his forearms. Clearly, this dude was a badass and lived to see a lot of action. Of course he had. He was Dwalin. The real Dwalin…

He quickly looked her way and immediately caught Stella's eye. His eyes narrowed and he growled out, "What are you looking at?"

Stella could not help but smirk at him from over the cup of water she was sipping at. "I'm looking at you."

Before he could respond, a white-haired dwarf – could this be the real Balin? – interrupted with a polite inquiry, "So you are royalty, lass?"

Stella stilled in her seat as Lorenzo snorted into his cup. She turned to stare at the dwarf. He couldn't be ignorant to sarcasm but perhaps Zo was laying it on a bit thick earlier.

She licked her lips and said seriously, "Yes. Yes, I am."

"If she's royalty, then I'm a virgin," Zo drawled.

"Why, Lorenzo, since when? Did you get baptized and become a born-again virgin?" Stella asked innocently. "Oh, wait, that's not possible. Holy water would burn you."

"You can go suck a fuck," he said without malice.

"You're going to have to tell me how exactly one does suck a fuck. I'm sure you're just so knowledgeable about it," she retorted with an angelic look on her face.

"I swear, if it wasn't for your outstanding ability to come up with quick comebacks, our friendship would have been over before it began," he shook his head.

"Zo, why are you so afraid to love me?" Stella asked with a small pout.

With a roll of his eyes, he ignored his friend and instead turned to address maybe-Balin. "She's not a real Empress. But, for the love of God, don't fucking tell her that to her face. Don't let that innocent face and twiggy arms fool you. One time, I couldn't walk for a month after she – "

"Lorenzo Marchesi," Stella broke into the conversation. "Are you trying to make me unlikeable?"

"Would never dream of it, dearest," he leaned back into his seat before he grimaced. "Fuck, you sound just like Mama when you say my name like that."

"Thank you," she beamed proudly.

"You two are the most peculiar beings I have ever come across," a dwarf Stella could not identify as of yet said slowly as he squinted at them, like he could figure them out if he did that.

"Thank you," she repeated, with Lorenzo speaking in unison with her.

When she noticed that Thorin turned his dark gaze our way and opened his mouth to speak, Stella immediately addressed the head of the table. "Lord Elrond, would you like to speak to Lorenzo and me tonight or at a later date?"

He gave an amused glance at the glaring Thorin before answering. "Immediately after you are finished with your meal, if that pleases you."

"It pleases me greatly," the young woman chirped cheerily. "I am finished now. You, Zo?"

"Hold on," he said as he filled his cup to the brim with wine. "I have a feeling I'll have to be shitfaced drunk for this."

"I'm not taking care of you again if you do," she frowned at him as they stood up together.

"I didn't ask you to."

If Stella could sneer at him without looking ridiculous, she would have. "You're going to have a headache in the morning and I am going to torment you."

"Yeah, I hate you, too. Let's go," he waved at hand to hurry her along.

He paused for a moment before leaning across the table to bring the pitcher of wine with him. Stella could only sigh and shake her head at him. As Gandalf and Elrond followed them out, they all pointedly ignored the seething glare that burned their backs from the used-to-be prince.

* * *

><p>The room was still after Stella retold their story. Zo was tremendously unhelpful as he situated himself in the corner of the room to drink himself stupid. Elrond, as he already had a vague idea of what happened, stood at his window with his back towards everyone and looked over his city in silence. As Stella spoke, Gandalf puffed at his pipe and stared off into a distance that only he could see. The Lady Galadriel, who was more beautiful than Stella ever could have imagined, gave the two strangers to Middle Earth her undivided attention. She split her time evenly as her piercing gaze switched between the both of them. None of other three gave any indication of what they were thinking of even if they believed Stella or not.<p>

"This quest is a well-known story in your world," Gandalf finally spoke. "So you know the outcome of the attempt to reclaim Erebor."

"I do," Stella confirmed. "That, and more."

"More?" Elrond repeated. "What else do you know?"

"I know who Estel is," she said, pointedly staring at the elf-lord, who whirled around with eyes wide, "and what his fate will be."

"Then you know quite a bit," Gandalf stated more than asked.

"I'm not an obsessive fan to know, like, the total history of Middle Earth or whatever. Don't ask me about the first dark lord, whatever his name was, but I know enough," she shrugged. "And no, I won't tell you what I know."

"Be sure you do not," Lady Galadriel said. "It will be difficult for you. But it is a burden you must bear. Are you prepared for it?"

"I know how to keep secrets," Stella shrugged again.

"And you?" Elrond addressed Lorenzo.

"I tell too many outlandish stories for anybody to believe a word I say," he dismissed them with a flourish of his hand.

Stella would have been impressed with his passive nature if he hadn't waved the hand that held his drink. Lorenzo knew how to handle his liquor so either he drank more than she had been supervising or elvish wine was stronger than he was used to. With a small sigh at how he spilled wine down his hand and onto his pants, Stella turned back to the other three in the room.

"As sad as that is, it's true," she confirmed. "I've known him for years and there are still times that even I can't tell if what he's saying is true or not."

"I'm unreliable but at least I'm funny," Zo raised a glass as if to toast to himself.

After regarding Lorenzo with uncertainty, Gandalf and Elrond glanced at each other before moving on. They turned to consult with Galadriel in low voices, allowing Stella a moment to move to the window that overlooked Rivendell. The city was absolutely gorgeous. She adored San Diego with its beaches, its city, and its hidden finds but Rivendell was something else altogether. The two couldn't possibly be compared as they had two different kinds of beauty. As much as Stella wanted to go home, she was still glad that I had the opportunity to see a real Elvish city. If only she could see Lothlorien. Now that would have made her die a happy girl.

"If you know about Estel's future," Elrond's voice interrupted my thoughts, "you know about the future of Middle Earth."

"I do," Stella answered.

"So you know about the fate of Thorin and Company?" he continued.

"Yeah?" She turned her head to peer over at him from over her shoulder, not sure where the conversation was going.

"Does this quest affect Middle Earth?" he finally asked.

"Oh," she said softly. So that's what all the questioning was about. "Gandalf, out of all Middle Earth, out of all its inhabitants, out of all its hobbits, why did you specifically choose Bilbo Baggins?"

The Gray Wizard blinked at the random question as he readjusted himself in his seat. "Hobbits are quiet, light on their feet, and his family – his mother's side, at least – are prone to their own adventures. He was a logical choice."

"Any random Took would have been a fine choice," Stella rolled her eyes. "But why Bilbo?"

He cleared his throat before taking a hurried puff of his pipe. At the pressing gaze of Galadriel, his face slackened into an unreadable expression – Concern? Fear? Worry? – and he placed his pipe down to rub his hands together.

"Why Bilbo Baggins?" he repeated to himself absently. "Perhaps it is because I am afraid, and he gives me courage."

The room was quiet after his declaration. Sir Ian could make anybody's heart swell but the real Gandalf was making Stella's heart break. Gandalf's line in the movie was beautiful in the movie but hearing it whispered in person, like it was a secret forced from his very spirit, made the realization that this was all hideously real reverberate throughout Stella's entire being. Gandalf, to the girl, was always a symbol of strength. Even through his death – a pang echoed in her heart when she remembered that his death would not occur for quite some time and he didn't even know it – Gandalf rose again, more powerful than ever before. He continued on and he was the shining beacon of hope. Seeing him crumpled in a chair, admitting fear, dimmed his light a bit.

In a swift movement, Stella moved to his side before she knelt in front of him and grasped his gnarled hands. "You made the best choice with Bilbo. Erebor is important, Thorin is important, the entire Company is important. But reclaiming Erebor is just the edge of the tipping scale. Even though he will never realize it, Bilbo is by far the most important in all of this. His actions during the quest will be…"

"The beginning of the end?" Lorenzo helpfully offered.

"The beginning to new beginnings," she corrected with a small smile. Even though that small statement was risky enough, she had to let Gandalf know.

"Is the halfling really so important?" Galadriel asked.

"Trust me," Stella stood up to look her way. "Bilbo Baggins is definitely not half of anything. True glory and courage lies in the Baggins line."

"Is there…" Elrond hesitantly began to ask, "anything at all that you know about the quest that you deem unnecessary?"

"Are you asking if there is anything I would change?"

"Yes, I am."

"I don't know about unnecessary, but there are a few things I would like to not happen," she admitted, thinking upon two wide smiles and a burning glare. "But I have no idea how it would affect Middle Earth in the long run if I warned them."

"Or went with them?" Gandalf asked lightly.

Stella immediately narrowed her eyes at him. "What are you suggesting, old man?"

The three of them seemed to acknowledge each other without even so much as turning each others' way. Lady Galadriel finally said, "There have been some…unexplained events occurring near my home."

"The shiny tree place?" Zo asked.

"Lothlorien," Stella breathed out.

"There is a small portal that seems to have a mind of its own. It opens and closes at will. So far, only objects and animals come through. It will lead you home. I have seen you returning but only when Thorin and Company's quest is over."

"We can go home?" Stella grinned widely as Lorenzo dropped his cup on the stone floor in his scramble to stand up and join her at her side.

"Only one will go," she clarified slowly, her eyes drifting from the floor to gaze steadily upon Lorenzo.

Stella's brow furrowed in confusion as she shifted her gaze from Lady Galadriel to Zo. He had a stricken expression on his face as he blindly flailed to curl his long fingers around Stella's. And he wouldn't look at her. She kept switching between him and Galadriel, who would shoot Stella looks of sympathy, but Zo would never look at her.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Stella finally asked.

"The future is not concrete," she said. "Any one of your decisions may affect if you return or not. But I looked into my mirror before I departed and I saw a man returning through the portal but I did not see a woman with him."

"So, what? Did I die or something? Is that why I'm not there?" she asked, making Zo's grip on her hand tighten.

"No. You were elsewhere."

"I chose to stay?"

"Apparently so. The future is never permanently set. However, no matter how I approached the situation, I never saw a woman returning. It was always and only the man."

"Can't we just go to Lothlorien and wait it out?" Zo asked.

"I would offer such a thing if I could guarantee that the portal would actually open on that precise time. I cannot."

"Okay." Stella swallowed down the thick lump in her throat as she set a hand protectively over her stomach. She didn't want to be over-dramatic and cry so she bit down on her lip as hard as she could to prevent herself from doing so. "Okay. Good to know. Great."

"But, either way, you're saying we have to go with them," Zo reaffirmed as he drew her into his arms.

"You don't have to do anything," Gandalf shook his head. "It is entirely up to you."

"And if we did go, how the hell would you get Thorin to agree?" Stella asked.

"He needs not know of your origins. Not entirely. Only that you know the future of this quest," Gandalf's eyes lit up in amusement. "What leader wouldn't want a Seer on his journey?"

At last, Lorenzo finally looked at Stella. But the look they shared was not one of comfort. The thought intrigued her – Stella and Zo always were ones for taking risks – but even she had to admit to the feeling that Gandalf's idea would not go over with the Dwarves very well.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** I think in my efforts to not make my story too dialogue heavy, I accidentally made it too detail heavy. I don't know how I feel about that. I don't know how I feel about this chapter either but it is what it is and here you go.


	4. Chapter 4

Stella and Lorenzo left Elrond's study shortly after to leave him, Gandalf, and Galadriel to discuss things further among themselves. She was still confused as to what Galadriel was doing in Rivendell. Though Stella was excited to meet elf, she wasn't supposed to be there. She wasn't anywhere in the book so unless the world she and Zo were in was far more similar to the movies, she shouldn't have been there. If they were in a movie universe, she wondered how useful she could be for Gandalf's Seer idea. Stella only had the opportunity to see the first two so if there were a number of differences in the last movie from the book, and Stella was sure there were, she would essentially be useless when it really mattered.

Stella and Zo were escorted to a bedroom that would be theirs to rest in for the remainder of their stay in Rivendell. The elf who guided them appeared to be a bit scandalized when Stella insisted on sharing the room with Zo. After learning that the two were not married, courting, or related, the elf tried to insist that one of them could rest in a room just down the hall but they remained firm. He left exasperated but still left defeated. Sharing a room was important to them. It was the only place Stella and Zo could be alone together. They had not had the opportunity to be alone since they came across the Company and they most likely would not have time to be alone again anytime soon.

They fell asleep on the small and comfortable bed with their arms wrapped around each other. Their whispered murmurs died out from their lips during the night but the concerns they shared lingered on into the morning.

Galadriel made it clear that the portal seemed to open after important events and they couldn't possibly just go to Lothlorien to wait for it to open. She specifically said so but Stella still couldn't understand _why_ they couldn't. She wanted to ignore Galadriel and go anyway but a small tickle in the back of her mind wanted to listen to Gandalf.

The quest fascinated Stella but she wasn't crazy. Goblins, meddlesome Elves, and – ugh, she cringed just thinking about it – spiders still waited for the Company. And, _hello_, what about the Battle of Five Armies and the three very significant deaths? Why the hell would she want to go through with that?

Stella tried to keep away from the topic of Lorenzo returning when she would not, but that was all he wanted to talk about. He continuously told her that he would not leave without her. She loved him when he said that.

She continuously said if he had the opportunity to go home, he should take it, regardless if she went with him or not. Stella thought he hated her when she said that.

When she woke up, she discovered that their positions had completely changed during the night. They fell asleep facing each other on their sides but she had no idea how their positions changed so drastically without waking either of them up. Zo took up most of the bed and had sprawled out onto his stomach with his limbs lying across the sheets. His head was buried under the pillow and the sound of soft snores emerged from underneath. Stella had curled up on the lower corner of the bed. She was low enough to be nowhere near the pillows at the head of the bed but high enough for Zo to have an arm thrown across her collarbone. The position was slightly constricting but still comfortable.

Stella lightly tickled the dip of his back, causing Zo to jerk wildly before shooting up to sit up on his knees. He soaked in his surroundings before groaning and pressing the bride of his nose with his fingertips.

"Fuck me, I thought it was a nightmare."

"'Fraid not, honeybee," Stella said as she rolled off the bed.

She shook out her rumpled dress, wondering where her other clothes were at and if she had to wear the borrowed dress for another day, when her eye was drawn to the hanging materials in a wardrobe in the corner of the room. To her surprise, the wardrobe was filled with clothes suitable for both of them. She pulled out a soft orange dress with a smile before tearing off the gown she slept in. Without so much as a blink of an eye, Zo sleepily approached Stella to help her tie up the back of the gown after she pulled it on. After firmly knotting the ties, he peeled off his clothes and blindly grabbed a tunic and trousers to wear. He pulled on his boots (which clashed horribly with his clothes) and Stella went barefoot, as she had left her sandals in the forest and there were none to be found in the room.

They then proceeded to search for breakfast. When they entered the room where had dinner the night previous, they found breakfast laid across the table. Only Bilbo and two dwarves were in the room and already eating. Stella offered them a small smile as she and Zo sat across from them. Bilbo smiled back but the dwarves only offered a hesitant good morning. She studied them discreetly as they ate while she piled her plate with fruit. One of them would fuss gently over the other, who sat patiently and quietly, as if he was used to it all.

"Your names are Dori and Ori, correct?" Stella guessed.

They both looked up in surprise before the one who she assumed was Dori narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "How did you know that?"

Stella stared with wide eyes into his slit ones as she said seriously, "I can read minds."

He slightly reared back in his seat as Bilbo and Ori dropped their bread and forks in shock. Zo calmly poured juice into a cup. She remained silent for one moment more before she smiled innocently.

"Just kidding."

Dori blinked once, twice, before he hesitantly smiled and gave a weak chuckle. The silence quickly overcame the room as the other three resumed their breakfasts. Perhaps it was too early to tease. But it was just too easy! The longer that Stella stared over at the Dwarves as she chewed on her toast slowly, the more they fidgeted in their seats. They had yet to look up at her but they knew she was staring at them. Their only reprieve came with the arrival of two dwarves walking into the dining room. Stella immediately turned to assess them, making the ones across from her visibly sag in relief.

The two dwarves were Stella's height but held themselves up well. If she didn't know better, she would have thought them very tall with the way they held their chins up and shoulders back. Both were tan with long, fair, and unruly hair with thick braids entwined within. They had familiar blue eyes that lit up in a way another dwarf's pair did not. With their wide grins stretching across their faces, Stella knew immediately who they were, even after her split-second glance of them when she first fell into the Company's lap.

"Good morning, Fili. Good morning, Kili," she greeted.

"Good morning, miss," they greeted in unison, making her sit up straight in happiness.

"Oh, god, you're just loving this, aren't you?" Lorenzo sneered.

"Yes, I am," Stella shamelessly confirmed. Without drawing her gaze away from the two, she shook Zo's arm happily. "Just look at them, Zo. The _real_ Fili and Kili."

"Yeah, they're great. Let me eat, woman," he pushed his friend away.

Undaunted, she scooted her chair closer to the dwarf princes. "It is so nice to actually meet you."

In her excitement to greet Fili and Kili, Stella almost missed the arrival of Bifur, Bofur, and Bombur. Before she could say hello, she was delighted to see that Nori had slinked into a seat by Dori, almost unnoticed. Her eyes danced around the room, trying to soak in the appearance of each dwarf. Oin and Gloin walked in and she knew it was only a matter of time before Balin, Dwalin, and Thorin would join everyone. Stella greeted each one happily and accurately, much to the disgust of Lorenzo, before she calmed down and addressed Bilbo.

"So, Mr. Baggins, is it true that you had little choice to go on the quest with the dwarves?" Stella asked.

The murmured conversation that had been occurring in the dining room halted. As the dwarves questioned her and her knowledge of the quest, Bilbo spoke over their voices to ask in return, "Pardon?"

"What I mean is did you go willingly? Like, did you look forward to an adventure or did you just get shoved out of your house?" she clarified.

A handful of the dwarves turned towards Bilbo, wanting to hear his answer, while the others seemed indifferent. She belatedly realized that she had put Bilbo on the spot but there was no going back. The question was asked. Even if Stella recanted the question, the dwarves would probably still demand an answer. And she really did want to know his answer, too. The movies made Bilbo seem so eager to leave but book-Bilbo was so hesitant and was all but thrown out of his home by Gandalf. Stella had the real Bilbo in front of her so she could finally get her answer.

He stammered for a moment before saying, "Well, it was all very sudden. What with dwarves coming in late at night and clearing out my pantry – "

"They did what?" Lorenzo cut in.

Uh-oh.

Bilbo's eyes nervously flickered to him before settling on Stella, marking her the safer choice. He carried on, "I barely got any sleep and Gandalf was rather pushy in the morning. I couldn't even pack much at all, but I – "

Knew it.

"Wait, back up, little dude." Lorenzo had even put down his drink, which meant he was about to make things very awkward or very funny. "That was real? They actually came into your house and ate all your food without permission?"

"And mocked his worries," Stella piped up unhelpfully. "_That's what Bilbo Baggins hates!"_

As Bilbo flushed in embarrassment when she sang the small line, the dwarves all flinched. Lorenzo was now glaring maliciously at all of them. Apparently, the dwarves had still believed it all to be in good spirits.

"Why didn't you kick them out?" Zo asked incredulously. "It's amazing how effective throwing pans at people's heads could be."

Before anybody could throw him their own startled stares, Stella explained, "Zo and I were raised to believe that the home is sacred. Disrespecting a person's home is a horrible offense to the homeowner."

"It was all good fun," Bilbo tried to play if off.

"Was it?" Lorenzo challenged. "For you or them?"

"And we move on!" the young woman declared since Bilbo was becoming more and more flustered. "So? Are you here willing and enthusiastically or not?"

Stella leaned forward to make sure Bilbo's attention was on her. When his eyes caught hers, she gave him a reassuring smile. She wanted the truth, not what he thought the dwarves or Stella wanted to hear. His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed. His licked his chapped lips before he threw his chin up defiantly.

"I also believe the home is sacred," he declared firmly. "Everyone deserves one. That's why I am here. Willingly. Enthusiastically."

Stella grinned wider.

"You are one in a million, Bilbo Baggins. You are simply beautiful."

He blinked once before he straightened in his seat and happily beamed. He cleared his throat and never stopped smiling as he finished his breakfast. The dwarves continued their murmurings and Stella ignored Zo's grumblings under his breath. Thorin, Balin, and Dwalin eventually made their way in. They gave nods in response to the greetings given to them but ultimately only spoke in low volumes among themselves once they noticed that Stella and Lorenzo were present. Never resisting the urge to speak up, she addressed them immediately.

"So, Thorin, when are you going to allow Elrond to read your map?

The room once again fell silent. "Jesus Christ," Zo sighed. "Can't you go one hour without startling people?"

"No," Stella answered without drawing her gaze away from the end of the table.

Thorin lowered his chin to glower at her more proficiently. He slightly tilted his head to the side and his blue eyes roamed across Stella's face. The longer he stared, the more she felt like twitching. Stella loved shocking people and she loved attention but his scrutinizing, unwavering gaze irritated her. His gaze felt like ants crawling over her skin. It wasn't enough to make her uncomfortable but yet...

"How do you know of the map?" he finally asked. "Who told you?"

"No one," she shrugged.

"Who?" he pressed.

"Nobody," she repeated before she grew serious. "I simply read your mind."

His eyebrows furrowed together. Stella stared at him for a few seconds longer before she turned back to her plate and said nothing more. As she sipped on her juice, she peered over the brim of her cup at Dori. He appeared torn between speaking up and staying silent. She lowered her cup slightly to throw him a mischievous smile. His eyes narrowed but he finally smiled to himself with a shake of his head.

* * *

><p>Stella and Lorenzo made themselves scarce after breakfast. Before they could be swept away for their promised interrogation, they briskly left the dining room to find a place to have time to themselves. They figured their room would have been where everyone would search first so they had to search all over. Gimli may have said that dwarves were natural sprinters but they had nothing on two track runners. Especially two track runners that were willing to run through elvish territory where a dwarf would not.<p>

Stella had to give kudos to Dwalin, however. He came pretty close to grabbing her but Lorenzo had caught hold of her just in time to give her an extra pull to propel her forward.

Stella was anticipating Nori to come after them. The book offered very little information about him but the movie made him out to be quite sneaky, which she rather liked, so she thought he would be after them next but he never came. At least, not that she noticed. Which, to be quite honest, made Stella quiver in anticipation. In a good way.

Stella and Zo eventually found a small unoccupied room that overlooked the courtyard. She straddled the ledge of the balcony as Zo leaned against his forearms to watch the Elves that strolled around. He patted at himself absently before freezing. Stella stared in curiosity as he leaned over and began to untie his boots. With a hum of satisfaction, he pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. She rolled her eyes at his exuberance as he joyfully lit up his first cigarette he had since the moment they had arrived.

"You know you're going to have to limit yourself with those, right?" Stella spoke up as she tilted her head back with her eyes closed to enjoy the sun on her face.

"You bite your tongue," he snapped without malice.

"I'm serious. We're probably going to be here for a while. You'll run out of those and have to settle for pipe weed," she reminded him.

"God," he groaned. "Thank fuck this is a brand new pack."

Stella peeked over at him and smiled at the sight of him enjoying a slow inhale of his cigarette. At least he wasn't horrendously addicted. Last she checked, Zo could make a pack of cigarettes last a long time. After his father, Zo would never allow himself to be addicted to anything. So she was never worried about him. Zo could be an idiot, no matter how smart he thought he was, but even when he was totally drunk, he could still keep a level head.

Her only problem with his smoking was the smell. But she wasn't going to complain. Stella worked and was friends with plenty of smokers. Besides, she couldn't possibly complain about the smell of smoke considering her job, which was the best part of her entire life, consisted mainly of petroleum fuel and smoke.

"How long do you think we'll be here?" he asked quietly.

Stella slowly opened her eyes as she thought about his question. She wasn't an expert on Tolkien but she did know that they had to be in the month of May and the Battle of Five Armies was in November. But so far, everything that had occurred since they arrived was following the movies and not the books. However, Lady Galadriel and the orc pack were the only clues to that hypothesis.

"My best guess? Seven or eight months," she answered reluctantly.

"I guess that means I'll miss Angelo's and Salvatore's birthdays," he said calmly. His hand was trembling as he lifted his cigarette to his mouth.

Stella nodded slowly and said, "And I'll miss Nanay's. And Ruth's. And Telma's. And Uri's. And Tatay's. Oh, god."

A strangled sob escaped her throat as she brought her hands up to cover her face. She hunched over her folded legs and moved her hands to grip the back of her neck. But Stella would not cry. Crying was not allowed.

Yet the longer she allowed herself to contemplate their situation, the more she wanted to. If she heard it from anybody else, Stella would have scoffed and said that there was no way anybody would keep her from going home. But the way Lady Galadriel stared into her eyes when she informed them that only Zo would be returning haunted her. She said it so factually.

The sky is blue.

Fish swim in water.

We breathe in oxygen.

Stella Ann Villanueva was never going home.

What would her parents think? Would they still say that they had four children or would they begin saying that they only had two daughters and a son now? Maybe they would say they used to have three daughters but they lost one. They would firmly say that the second eldest was not dead. She was simply lost. Lost and gone forever, oh my darling Stella Ann.

And what about her siblings? Her stupid, infuriating, wonderful siblings. For being the eldest, Ruth was just as irritating as Uri. She could be so condescending, as if she thought being older meant that she was smarter, but Stella knew that Ruth was not the greatest with her words. She only meant the best.

Uri was only about to finish his sophomore year in high school and lived up to the stereotypes of an almost sixteen-year-old boy. That basically spoke for itself but he was her baby brother. And she would never see him graduate or hear his disgusting jokes again or drive him to tennis practice again.

And then her Telma, who was Stella's only little sister and her very best friend, would never see her again. Stella wouldn't be there to hear Telma rant about her job and she wouldn't be there to see Stella dance anymore and they would never bake muffins together again and they would never camp out in the backyard again.

At least Stella didn't leave her family on a bad note. She always heard on the news that when somebody went missing, their loved ones would cry because the last thing they said to them was something angry or blasé. Thankfully, Stella's family was a firm believer in saying "I love you" as often as possible, especially every time they said goodbye. If that was going to be the last thing she would ever say to and hear from her family, Stella was eternally glad that was it.

If she never went home, could she still say that she had a family? Did she come from a family of six or was Stella a sibling-less orphan now? Could she still say she was from that quiet Filipino family at the end of the cul-de-sac or was she just a lost and found girl with an animal chasing behind her?

Zo sat on the ledge in front of her and pulled Stella up so her legs sprawled over his thighs. He coaxed her into hiding her face in the crook of his neck. She huffed lightly before nuzzling into him. For as apathetic as Zo liked to portray himself to be, he always gave the best hugs. Most of the time, his hugs consisted of a casually draped arm over the shoulder while he impassively looked away, mostly at his phone, as whoever he was hugging clung on to him. But his deep hugs, in which he held someone as he did with her in that moment, which involved all of his being, were just as genuine as his easy hugs.

"I'll stay as long as you need me," he spoke softly into Stella's hair. "Get you settled in nice so you won't feel like an outsider."

Lorenzo was never the type of person to offer comfort when there was none to be found. Perhaps that was why Stella initially fell in love with his attitude when everyone else couldn't stand him. They were the same. They were not in the practice of lying to people just for the sake of their comfort. She knew Zo would never tell her that everything would be okay or she would make her way home when he had no way of knowing if it would be so.

Stella felt incredibly selfish when she nodded after he spoke. Zo had just as much to lose as she did. Who the hell was she to have him stay there with her longer than he had to? She wasn't even his best friend. She wasn't even just a simple ex-girlfriend. Stella was in the complicated area where she was in-between everything. She was in-between ex-girlfriend and just friends. She was in-between just friends and best friends. Stella was in-between "I think of you as just a friend" and "I'll always have feelings for you."

Zo had brothers. He had a mother. He had endless family stretching from all over California to overseas in his first home in Italy. He wanted to go home just as much as Stella did, if not more. Underneath her anger and grief, she was elated that she was meeting some of her favorite fictional characters. They were really real! But Zo didn't care about any of them. And yet, he still offered to stay longer for her. Stella hated herself for nodding but she didn't want to be there alone.

Once she composed herself and pulled away from his embrace, Stella watched Zo take a calm drag of his cigarette before asking, "Do you really think the dwarves will believe Gandalf when he tells them I'm a Seer?"

"Why not?" he shrugged as he blew out the smoke. "You could be like Cassandra. She's the legit thing, right?"

"Legit Seer, yeah. Who nobody believed and died alone," Stella rolled her eyes. "Now I feel so much better."

In a moment that came suspiciously on time, a thud echoed from the outside the door before it fell open and three figures stumbled in. The smallest body caught himself quicker and straightened his clothes with a clearing of his throat before offering Stella a sheepish smile. She tilted her head at Bilbo, who quickly turned around to help the two dwarves up. There were a few furious whispers about warnings against eavesdropping and being shameless. One dwarf smiled easily at Bilbo before turning to Stella.

"Are you really a Seer, lass?" he asked.

Zo sighed deeply as she stilled. The dwarf's brogue was thick and unlike anything Stella had ever heard before. As a citizen of San Diego, she was right in the middle of a melting pot of cultures. They had tourists from all over the world roaming throughout the city and beaches. She had seen so many aspects of different cultures. She had heard so many different languages. She had heard so many different accents, which was one of her favorite things about meeting new people. The dwarves had the most fascinating accents Stella had ever heard, even if it was only because they were the newest group of people she had met.

Ruth always told Stella that curiosity killed the cat. Oh, but how satisfaction brought it back.

Stella jumped off the ledge and tried to refrain from skipping up to the dwarf who spoke. He slightly leaned back in surprise when she shamelessly invaded his personal space but did not rear away from her as people typically did. He blinked once and gave her a soft smile that immediately made her melt.

She grabbed his hands in hers as she cooed over him. "Look at you! With that hat, you must be Bofur. That is an amazing hat and I love the way your smile lights up your eyes. You are simply wonderful. I think I could fall in love with you."

"Stella, stop flirting," Lorenzo said as he pushed himself away from the balcony to shove his cigarettes and lighter back into the sides of his boots.

"Stop telling me what to do," Stella snapped at him before she turned back to Bofur. She beamed before drawing him into a hug. His hat slightly fell off center but his automatic response to her actions was to wrap his thick arms around her waist. She nuzzled her cheek into his happily. "My Zo just gets jealous that I have such a big heart and he's left with a shriveled up organ in his chest."

"Yeah, that's what it is," he rolled his eyes before lazily throwing an arm around Bilbo's shoulders and peeling Bofur away from her. "All ye beware the succubus. Fall not for her cunning ways."

Stella glared at Zo with her arms still stretched out towards Bofur as he led them out of the room before she slumped down into a small pout. She adored physical affection, especially hugs, and Bofur was just so nice to cuddle into. What was wrong with that? With a huff, Stella turned to the last dwarf that lingered in the room.

Her eyes drew up to the large chunk of metal lodged securely into his forehead. Her gaze lingered on it before she settled for staring into his eyes. He never moved as she assessed him and he didn't seem to be bothered with the way Stella stared openly at his injury. It was obvious that he had long become accustomed to people staring. She supposed she should have felt embarrassed but she didn't.

"That must have hurt," Stella simply stated.

He tilted his head and his eyes strayed away as he thought it over. How long had that been in his head that he actually had to think back on it? With some tension in his lips, he nodded.

"Does it still hurt?" she asked.

He answered quicker with a firm shake of his head.

"Good," she nodded. She rolled back on the heels of her feet. "Do you regret it? Going to wherever you got that?"

Just as quickly as he answered the previous question, he shook his head. He said something that Stella could not understand but she got the general gist. He did what he believed was right.

"You are so brave. Simply amazing," Stella smiled. She gestured to the door. "Walk with me?"

As if it was the most natural thing in the world, Bifur held out his arm for Stella to place her hand in the crook of his elbow. They departed the room as quietly as their small conversation had been and followed the small group ahead of them down the hall. She wanted to groan once she heard Zo telling Bilbo and Bofur one of his outlandish tales again but Stella kept herself silent. When Zo gesticulated wildly, causing Bilbo to duck underneath a sweeping arm and Bofur to be swung out in a wide spin, Bifur began to shake from his laughter. She peeked at him from the side of her eye with a small smile on her face.

When he caught Stella's gaze, he offered a small smile in return. She patted his arm with her other hand and said, "I'm told I'm usually rather obnoxious. I like things to always be loud and moving, you know? But this is rather nice. Isn't it?"

Just as quick and firm as he was before, Bifur nodded and patted her hand. They continued to walk in their pleasant silence, following and listening along to the sound of Zo confusing everyone who heard him on whether his words were fact or fiction.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** I don't know how I feel about this chapter but it's an update, which is always nice, right?


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